MCLEAN, Va. (October 20, 2009)—The Physh Ed National Fishing and Boating Initiative, which provides grants for K-12 teachers to incorporate fishing and boating activities into their school curriculum, has proven fishing is a fun way to lure children back outdoors. During the past seven years, the Future Fisherman Foundation (F3) has awarded more than $1,200,000 in grant funds to help teachers from 325 schools in 47 states deliver angling, boating and aquatic conservation programs through the Physh Ed Initiative. Most schools approach this program in a cross-curricular manner, teaming physical education, science, math, health and art teachers to deliver lessons.

Seventy-seven new schools each received $2,500 grants for the 2008-2009 school year. Thirteen former grantees were awarded $500 in supplemental funds. The funding was used to purchase fishing and boating equipment, cover field trip costs and buy curriculum materials and other resources to help educators reach state standards for learning in science, physical education, art and other subjects. It also defrayed the cost of a five-day training for new grantees, which prepares them to teach aquatic conservation, spin casting, fly fishing, fly tying and boating to their students.

The Physh Ed program reached more than 16,200 new students during the 2008-2009 school year. Of these, 12% were from economically disadvantaged households, 24% were minorities, and 36% included students with special needs.

The 77 new grantees received a total of 5,346 volunteer hours from parents, community members and state aquatic educators, the equivalent of $68,000 of volunteer time. Teachers also secured donations of rods, reels, tackle, kayaks and boating supplies in the amount of $99,000. This $167,000 of combined in-kind and product donations represents an 88% match to the $199,000 grant funds dispersed to schools.

Grantees received assistance from local chapters of national fishing and conservation organizations such as Trout Unlimited, Bassmasters, Federation of Fly Fishers and the Izaak Walton League. They received product and equipment donations from Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Dick's Sporting Goods, Gander Mountain, Plano, Shakespeare, Pure Fishing, Wal-Mart and Target, among others.

The 2008-2009 Physh Ed National Fishing and Boating Initiative was a partnership between F3 and the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. F3 is currently searching for funding to continue expanding the Physh Ed program into the 2010-2011 school year and invites donors to contribute through F3’s secure online system. For more information, please visit www.futurefisherman.org or contact Director of Education Teresa Rodriguez at (703) 402-0004.

Established in 1986, the Future Fisherman Foundation unites the sportfishing industry and a nationwide network of state outdoor educators, national conservation groups and youth organizations dedicated to introducing America’s youth to angling and the outdoors. These efforts help people of all ages have safe and enjoyable fishing experiences that foster conservation ethics.

Monday, October 19, 2009

The fight over saltwater fishing licenses has now reached the federal level.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) asked the U.S. Department of Commerce and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on Monday to set up a registration process for Long Island’s saltwater anglers so they only have to register once in their lifetime.

Posted 13 Oct 23:08 by donna@southwickassociates.com

For Immediate Release: October 13, 2009

In an recent poll from HunterSurvey and AnglerSurvey, sportsmen and women were asked how color, particularly pink, factors into the market for purchasing angling and hunting supplies such as fishing rods and reels, firearms, binoculars, coolers, and other similar outdoor equipment.

For hunters and target shooters, taken from nearly 3,700 sportsmen and women, the most popular colors for purchase of supplies were camouflage, where 62 percent of males and 60 percent females prefer this color. The following popular colors included black, green, and brown. The lowest preference for both male and females included brighter colors- white, yellow, and multicolored. And 15.4 percent women preferred pink, unrelated to breast cancer causes. Overall, 20 percent of men and women did not care about color in purchasing supplies.

Anglers reported similar results, based on responses from 2,523 males and 148 females. Again, the most popular color was black, with 52 percent of males and 38 percent females preferring this color. Sixteen percent of women preferred pink- and the lowest preference was still reflected in orange, yellow, and overall brighter shades. 30 percent overall did not factor color into purchasing.

Factoring color into the decision-making of purchasing equipment did not present a significant difference in men and women. Among hunters and target shooters, 57 percent of men said color was important, and 47 percent of women deemed color important. Anglers showed an even slighter difference, with 53 percent men and 56 percent women who considered color an important factor in purchasing decisions.

Males are more likely to expect pink to boost purchases by women. When asked if women are likely to purchase outdoor equipment goods in pink unrelated to breast cancer awareness, 53 percent of male hunters agreed but only 41 percent of female hunters agreed. Among anglers, 50 percent males and 40 percent females agreed pink boosts such sales.

With a smaller percentage of women, in comparison to men, agreeing that women are likely to purchase pink- just for the sake of pink, rather than for breast cancer - brings to mind the question of whether or not selling pink equipment unrelated to breast cancer is a condescending way to market that audience. Among hunters, 42 percent of men believed it was condescending, and 47 percent women reported it was condescending, or less than half. Responses were similar among anglers with 46 percent males and 50 percent females believed it to be condescending.

On another note, the discrepancy between pink for the color and pink for breast cancer awareness was significant. Among all hunters and anglers, 72 percent and 74 percent respectively, regardless of gender, believed selling pink equipment to promote breast cancer awareness would promote sales. Eighty seven percent of female hunters agreed that pink equipment would sell better if intended to promote awareness, along with 88 percent of female anglers.

Generally for both men and women, marketing better quality outdoor equipment in darker or more neutral shades is preferred; however, unless produced for the awareness of breast cancer or a general cause, producing pink, or feminine colors is not the major concern for women purchasing equipment- in fact, they would prefer black, green, or brown over pink. Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, agrees, “Overall, the differences between mens’ and womens’ responses were minor. It shows that there isn’t a great market to capture among women just by using a specific color.” Tammy Sapp of The Womens’ Outdoor Wire, www.womensoutdoorwire.com, wrote on women’s favoring of pink and also concluded “that color alone may not woo women who are shopping for equipment” and that “pink is effective when used to help support finding a cure for breast cancer but may not be important otherwise.”

October 5, 2009- Alexandria, Va. – A sweeping oceans and Great Lakes management policy document proposed by the Obama Administration will have a significant impact on the sportfishing industry, America’s saltwater anglers and the nation’s coastal communities. The draft policy, the Interim Report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, issued on September 17, will govern federal Pacific and Atlantic Ocean waters and Great Lakes resource conservation and management and will coordinate these efforts among federal, state and local agencies. This past June, President Obama created the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to develop a draft national policy and implementation strategy for conserving and managing the United States ocean territory and the Great Lakes.

“While we are by and large supportive of the intent of the Interim Report, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) has serious concerns regarding the direction the administration is taking regarding how to manage our nation’s marine and freshwater public resources, choosing a tone of preservation over conservation,” said ASA Vice President Gordon Robertson. “We are very disappointed that the task force failed to recognize recreational fishing’s significant conservation, economic and social contributions and include recreational fishing as a key policy component. The sportfishing community strongly supports healthy and abundant ocean, coastal and fishery resources which have a direct impact on sustaining vibrant local coastal communities. Outdoor recreation, especially recreational fishing, is an integral part of coastal economies throughout this nation and therefore should be included as a priority in any national ocean policy.”

“In regards to recreational fishing specifically, it is a long-standing policy of the federal government to allow public access to public lands and waters for recreational purposes consistent with sound conservation including the nation’s wildlife refuges, national forests, and national parks and should be reflected in a national policy for the oceans and Great Lakes. In fact, the use of public resources by recreational anglers is essential to the conservation model used in this country for fish and wildlife management,” said ASA Ocean Resource Policy Director Patty Doerr.

Doerr further said, “As with any good federal policy decision, discussions about measures that may restrict public access to public resources must involve an open public process, have a solid scientific basis and incorporate specific guidelines on implementation and follow-up. We are very concerned about the abbreviated 90 day timeline which forced the Task Force to issue this policy document prematurely. The implications of such a policy are vast and nationwide. Therefore, the review process should be very deliberate and go well beyond the 30 days public review and comment period which started on September 17.” The Task Force's Interim Report is currently under a 30-day public review and comment period.

Since 1950, with the passage of the Sport Fish Restoration Act, anglers and the sportfishing industry have provided the bulk of funding for fisheries conservation and management in the United States through fishing license fees and the federal manufacturers excise tax on recreational fishing equipment. According to NOAA Fisheries, saltwater anglers contribute over $82 billion annually to the economy. Despite taking only three percent of the saltwater fish harvested each year, the recreational sector creates nearly half the jobs coming from domestic saltwater fisheries.

Robertson concluded, “The sportfishing community believes that recreational activities such as responsibly-managed and regulated recreational fishing deserve full consideration and incorporation in the administration’s ocean and Great Lakes policy. Providing the angling public with access to public resources is no less important than conserving those resources. Therefore, we urge the Task Force to include recreational fishing as a separate and distinct ocean and Great Lakes priority. We also urge all anglers and recreational fishing supports to make their voices heard.”

In July, ASA staff met with White House staff to provide comments to CEQ and the Task Force. In August, ASA staff met with Department of Interior staff to discuss their involvement in the Task Force and provide ASA’s perspective on various ocean policy issues, including marine spatial planning and marine reserves.

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The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry’s trade association, committed to looking out for the interests of the entire sportfishing community. We give the industry a unified voice speaking out when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. We invest in long-term ventures to ensure the industry will remain strong and prosperous as well as safeguard and promote the enduring economic and conservation values of sportfishing in America. ASA also represents the interests of America’s 60 million anglers who generate over $45 billion in retail sales with a $125 billion impact on the nation’s economy creating employment for over one million people.

Thursday, October 01, 2009

NOAA announced today the temporarily closure of the black sea bass recreational fishery in federal waters north of Cape Hatteras, N.C., for 180 days in response to recent landings data that showed recreational fishermen may catch more than double their annual quota by the end of the year. The closure will commence on Monday, October 5, 2009.

Landings data and scientific analyses show recreational fishermen have reached their quota and could exceed their 1.14 million pound harvest limit by as much as 84 to 225 percent if the recreational fishery is not closed.

An independent body of federal and university scientists recently determined that the black sea bass stock has been rebuilt. However, both the scientists and the Science and Statistical Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council have cautioned against increasing fishing of this stock for several reasons, including the complex and poorly understood reproductive cycle, and limited information on life span and important habitats for this species. The Council recommends catch limits for black sea bass in federal waters.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov.